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Travel to europe safe right now?

I was planning a trip to Europe in the fall (2016) for about 2 weeks (not paid yet) and now I am questioning if I should continue planning with all of the recent attacks. Specifically planning on visiting London, Paris, and possibly Ireland. Does anyone have thoughts?

No one can make this call for you. Everyone has to figure out for themselves their own comfort level in these kinds of situations. I would have no issues going on taking a trip I had planned but that doesn't mean YOU would or should go.

No one can answer this for you. This is totally your mental thing. No one can tell you about the actual physical safety just as much as no none can tell you if you get into a serious auto accident this afternoon. What are comparing to anyway?

One way to look at this is what you would think if you reminisce this many years from now.

There are obvious potential risks but I don't think any of us knows exactly what the level of risk is in any particular place - compared to the level of risk where you live and work (normal life risks such as auto accidents and potential risks from either local madmen - as is only too frequent here in malls and moves theaters - or from politically motivated terrorists).

My 2 DDs (20s) and I are planning to go to London and Paris for 2 weeks at end of May and will not be changing those plans unless the situation in europe changes radically. However, we live in NYC and have lived through a number of terrorist attacks and in a permanent state of high risk.

My philosophy is that unless europe becomes a full-scale war zone we will not be deterred.

Caveat: I vacationed in London several times when the IRA bombings were going on and never gave it a second thought, although there were obvious signs of extra security in many pubic places.

In July I'm taking my first solo trip to Paris and the South of France. In November I'm off to London, Amsterdam, Lucerne, and then back to Paris. I actually thought about cancelling these trips until I came to my senses. I'm turning 50 this year and I will be finishing up my Masters, so I'm celebrating with a travel blitz! I'm not letting those terrorists rob me of dreams of travel. People tell me I'm crazy, but living in the US I often wonder if people outside of the US are afraid to travel here with all the gun violence and whatnot that goes on (e.g. last week a British tourist was stabbed to death in San Francisco). Life is a gamble. I say if you're up to it and want to live your life to the fullest---go! I sure am.

PS. I've been to Ireland and it is stunning. Don't rob yourself of it's beauty.

Up to you. We moved to Europe a year ago and feel infinitely safer here than we ever did in DC, where I was scared to take the garbage out after dark.

We just got back from an 8-day jaunt around the Netherlands and Belgium (using a lot of train stations and public places) and, apart from knowing that we needed to be vigilant, especially in crowded places, never thought twice about being afraid.

But it's your call. If you want to miss out on Europe and stay on your own scary turf, that's entirely up to you. You're more likely to be hit by a bus or have a road accident wherever you live than end up involved in a European terrorist attack. But people's minds play strange tricks with them, irrational ones IMO.